West Farms

West Farms is a residential neighborhood of west-central Bronx, New York City, serving as the northeast corner of the South Bronx. West Farms separated from Westchester in 1846, and it later developed into a railroad suburb similar to Yonkers. West Farms became a predominantly Latin American and African-American neighborhood, having one of the largest concentrations of Puerto Ricans in the city. It also became one of the poorest neighborhoods in America, with crime peaking during the crack and heroin epidemics of the 1980s and 1990s. Half of the population lived below the poverty line, West Farms had higher drop-out rates and incidents of violence in its schools than any other part of the city, violent crime continued to be a significant problem in the community into the 21st century, and many households were single-mother households. In 2011, West Farms had a population of 4,700.